The First 100 Days

It is heartening to see that the Obama administration is prioritizing women’s financial independence. President Obama’s first signed piece of legislation sends a strong message that discrimination based on pay may not be tolerated as much in the future, though it continues to be tolerated every day, in every industry. After all, men earn $1.20 for every $1 a woman makes.

The president says he wants to change that. “I intend to send a clear message: Making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone.”

So there’s new hope. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will allow workers who feel discriminated against on the basis of pay to sue their employers – even 180 days after the company decides to pay the employee less for doing the same work. (Previously you couldn’t sue after that time.) First lady (and former PINK magazine cover woman) Michelle Obama used her first official public appearance to praise the law. And she did so while standing next to Lilly Ledbetter, who brought this case forward a decade ago after she experienced discrimination herself.

“She knew unfairness when she saw it,” Michelle Obama said. “And [she] was willing to do something about it because it was the right thing to do, plain and simple.”

Also improving women’s opportunities to advance financially and make choices about their lives, the president signed an executive order ending the ban on federal funding for international groups that perform and/or promote abortions. He signed it on the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion.

Still, it remains to be seen how much the administration will do to support women like the 15.6 million who run their own businesses, many of whom are especially struggling in this difficult economy. I’m also concerned that diversity in corporate America will suffer further as companies put diversity initiatives on the back burner in order to cut costs. Often it’s the women, and their families and communities, that are hardest hit during economic downturns. PINK will be watching.

By Cynthia Good